The Curator
Composed of skipper Yannick Bestaven and co-skipper Pierre Brasseur. Yannick Bestaven is the winner of the 2011 Class40 race.
The skippers
Yannick Bestaven is a seasoned ocean racing skipper. He has a good ocean record, but he is also the engineer who developed the hydro-generator, within his company, Watt&Sea. The installation is found on many competition boats. In 2001, he started to make a name for himself by reporting the Mini-Transat. In 2008 he participated in the Vendée Globe but was forced to abandon when his boat dismasted in the Bay of Biscay. In 2010, he returned to the Class40 circuit and won the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2011. In 2013, he finished 4th. In 2014, he finished 4th in the Route du Rhum (ranked 7th), on the Conservateur. In 2015, he demonstrated the full capabilities of his new boat by winning Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables with a superb record. He also finished 2nd in the Normandy Channel Race.
Pierre Brasseur discovered sailing quite late, when he became responsible for a nautical base in Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was a revelation and he decided to enter the Mini circuit and took a good 2nd place in 2011. Then, he goes on with offshore races, on different supports: 60' monohull, 50' multihull but also Class40. In 2014, he took a 5th place in the Route du Rhum, in the Class40 category. This year, with his comrade Yannick Bestaven, he took 1st place in Les Sables-Horta-Les Sables and 2nd place in the Normandy Channel Race.
With great performances and broken records, the duo of Le Conservateur is the favorite in Class40 of this 2015 edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre.
| Plan | TIZH40 |
| Architect | G.Verdier |
| Job site | BG Race |
| Year of first launch | 2014 |
| Sail number | ENG 142 |
SNBSM Espoir Competition
Composed of skipper Valentin Lemarchand and co-skipper Arthur Hubert. This will be their first participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre.
The skippers
Valentin Lemarchand is a merchant marine officer. He has been sailing since he was young, both cruising and competing. In 2014, he joined the BG Race offshore racing team with the "Hope for a Rhum" Project (selection of young talents to help them set up offshore racing projects). This is how he participated in the 2014 Route du Rhum, where he finished 11th. In 2015, with the project "Hope for a coffee" he takes the start of the Tour de Bretagne sailing in Figaro and the Transat Jacques Vabre in Class40. This year, we could see him on the Spi Ouest France, where he finished 3rd in IRC.
Arthur Hubert
| Plan | Akilaria RC3 |
| Architect | Marc Lombard |
| Job site | MC-TEC |
| Year of first launch | 2012 |
| Sail number | ENG 124 |
Solidaires en Peloton / Arsep
Composed of skipper Thibault Vauchel-Camus and co-skipper Victorien Erussard
The skippers
Thibault Vauchel-Camus is a regular on sport catamarans and in particular on Formula 18. He was a crew member of Antoine Koch on the ORMA trimaran or on the Multi50 and even on the Swiss Hydroptère. Inseparable from his friend Victorien Errusard, they decided to set up a Class40 project together in 2013 on board the only Farr design in the fleet. During one season, they learn to know their boat and the specificities of ocean racing. In 2014, he participated in the Route du Rhum, in the Class40 category and finished in 2nd place. This year, he has been winning victories and good places: leader of the Class40 championship, winner of the Armen Race, winner of the Tour de Belle-Ile, winner of the Record SNSM, 3 eme of the Normandy Channel Race or 2 eme of the Grand Prix Guyader.
Victorien Errusard started out on sport catamarans, which is how he met his friend Thibault Vauchel-Camus. He then turned to ocean racing with a 3rd place in the Route du Rhum in 2006, two second places in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007 and 2009. This year, like his teammate, he finished 2nd eme of the Grand Prix Guyader and 3rd in the Normandy Channel Race. He was also the leader of the Class40 Championship, winner of the Raid des Corsaires in F18, winner of the Armen Race and winner of the Tour de Belle-Ile.
| Plan | Mach40 |
| Architect | S. Manuard |
| Job site | JPS Production |
| Year of first launch | 2014 |
| Sail number | FRA 137 |
Team Concise
Composed of skipper Jack Bouttell (GBR/AUS) and co-skipper Gildas Mahé. This will be their first participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre.
The skippers
Jack Bouttell has been passionate about sailing since he was very young. Australian, he moved to England at the age of 15 and sailed on many boats, from Class40 to 60 feet. In 2013, he decided to start ocean racing and won the first place in the rookie ranking in the Solitaire du Figaro. He was also a crew member of Dongfeng Race in the 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race and won with his crew on the Abu Dhabi/Sanya leg. In June 2015, he participated in his 3rd Solitaire du Figaro and finished in 10th place. He finished in the same position in the Solo Basse Normandie.
Gildas Mahé was trained at the federal branch, he started in Optimist and won his first titles. He then switched to the 420 and sailed on a Hobie Cat, which allowed him to refine his racing reflexes. In 1997, he moved to the First Class 8 and began to make a name for himself on the Breton waterways. After a stint as a trainer at the Centre Finistère Course au Large in Port-La-Forêt, he won the Tour de Bretagne à la Voile with Thierry Chabagny in September 2005. In 2006, he took 2nd place in the Solitaire du Figaro. In 2014, he took 2nd place in the Solo Maître Coq and 4th place in the Solitaire du Figaro.
| Plan | Forty 1 Design |
| Architect | Jason KER |
| Job site | McConaghy |
| Year of first launch | 2013 |
| Sail number | GBR 129 |
Teamwork 40
Composed of skipper Bertrand Delesne and co-skipper Nils Palmieri (SUI). This will be their first participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre.
The skippers
Bertrand Deslene fell into the world of sailing during an optimist course offered by his grandparents. While sailing with his uncle, he developed a passion for the sea and dreamed of the Route du Rhum and Transatlantic races. He obtained a BTS in industrial mechanics and worked for six years in the industry, before returning to his first love, sailing. He has 8 transatlantic races to his credit (4 in Mini 6.50, 3 in Class 40 and 1 in Figaro). In 2014, he participated in the Route du Rhum and finished in 12th place in Class40. He also manages the Teamwork 40 project.
Nils Palmieri is a Swiss professional sailor who started his career very young since he discovered Optimist sailing at the age of 7. He then started a competition with his sister on the "Challenge Pingouin". He then travels all around the world for Optimist competitions. For 10 years, he devoted himself to sailing, before turning to triathlon at the age of 17. At the age of 20, he returned to the world of sailing and participated in 4 Tour de France, then the opportunity to become a technician on a D35 presented itself, he jumped on the occasion. He discovered the Class40 on the convoy of Teamwork 40 and was about to realize his first offshore race.
| Plan | Mach40 |
| Architect | Sam Manuard |
| Job site | JPS Production |
| Year of first launch | 2012 |
| Sail number | ENG 115 |
V and B
Composed of skipper Maxime Sorel, whose first participation will be in the race, and co-skipper Sam Manuard, winner in 2011 in Multi50.
The skippers
Maxime Sorel discovered the world of sailing at a very young age but really got to know the world of ocean racing alongside the skipper of the Multi 50 Class Pascal Quintin. He participated in the last Route du Rhum (2014) and took first place in the Class40 Vintage ranking and 23rd overall.
Sam Manuard is the architect of the Mach 40, and will therefore sail, alongside Maxime Sorel, on the boat he designed. Class40 world champion in 2011, he won the Transat Jacques Vabre the same year. He is a regular on the podium in major races: 1st Bohus Race, second and 3rd in the Quebec-St-Malo transat...
| Plan | Mach40 |
| Architect | Sam Manuard |
| Job site | JPS Production |
| Year of first launch | 2015 |
| Sail number | ENG 144 |
Zetra
Composed of skipper Eduardo Penido (BR) and co-skipper Renato Araujo (BR). This will be their first participation in the Transat Jacques Vabre.
The skippers
Eduardo Penido is a Brazilian entrepreneur and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in 470, in the 1980 Olympic Games, with Marco Soares. He is the former coach of the Brazilian Olympic team.
Renato Araujo is a Brazilian entrepreneur who made a crossing of the Atlantic in 2011. He also participated in the Brazilian REFENO race (Recife - Fernando de Noronha Race).
This will be the first transatlantic race for both men.
| Plan | Mach40 |
| Architect | Sam Manuard |
| Job site | JPS Production |
| Year of first launch | 2013 |
| Sail number | BRA 130 |
